Sailing Day 4: From Serifos to Kythnos
Sailing to the oldest of the Greek islands: Kythnos
The evening before from the bus up to the Chora, Charlie had spotted some graffiti on a wall not too far away from the beach. She got up earlier that morning to get some nice shots of that street art. She hadn’t paid much attention to where the bus was turning, but she found that wall easily.
It was a lovely morning, the sun was just about to rise in the bay, the cafes and restaurants by the beach were getting ready to welcome guests and everything was so quiet. There was only one place that was already busy which was the bakery Vangelis had recommended for breakfast that would open before the other places. When Charlie stopped by to get a coffee, he was already sitting there chatting with the locals.
Bye, bye Dimitris
Charlie entered the bakery and again wished she spoke Greek because the lady at the counter wanted to tell her something that she didn’t understand. As it turned out, she wanted Charlie to put her face mask on (remember this was Charlie’s first trip after the lockdown and Coronavirus was still a thing). The coffee ordering process wasn’t smooth either as there were two counters in that bakery and Charlie didn’t know where to go first. She managed to get what she wanted and joined Vangelis at one of the tables outside.
She felt completely out of place because she was once again the only tourist in this place and everybody around her were elderly men enjoying their morning coffee. It is nice to find truly authentic places in a world that is often modified for tourists, but it was still a strange feeling.
Sailing to Kythnos
They left the harbour of Serifos that morning at 8.30 to sail to the island of Kythnos. Again, it was Vangelis who provided some more information about this island which is the oldest inhabited island of the Cyclades. The mines there aren’t in use anymore, but tourists can still enjoy the warm water of some thermal springs.
They reached the town of Loutra on the eastern side of Kythnos and Charlie and Daria went for a swim first. It was already lunchtime, but they had had a rich breakfast that day and Charlie wasn’t even hungry yet. After their swim, they walked along the beach in between some shops and restaurants. This place seemed a bit more touristic than the other islands before, but it was still authentic and not too busy. They were strolling around the little shops before they joined Vangelis, Pablo and Julio in one of the restaurants by the beach. They were having a proper lunch, but Charlie still didn’t feel like eating. She just wanted an ice cream.
Sailing theory
This sailing trip wasn’t meant to be just a relaxing holiday, Charlie had actually joined a proper RYA Day Skipper Course with 7SeasSailing. Now, it was time for some theoretical knowledge. They met back at the boat after lunch to learn about buoys and their meanings, how to read charts (important: sea people speak of charts, not maps!) and navigate at sea. It sounds more difficult than it is, you just have to remember what your geography teacher taught you once at school.
After the sailing theory lesson, Charlie went for another quick dip in the sea just to refresh and then slept on deck of the boat. That’s what she had been planning to do all day. She was struggling a bit with the time difference between Greece and the UK and getting up at 6 in the morning was like getting up at 4. She needed sleep and what better place for an afternoon nap than the deck of a boat in a harbour on a beautiful Greek island?
Exploring the bay
They were all meant to meet at 9pm at the restaurant “Sofrano” which was Vangelis’s favourite restaurant in Loutra and a place where they would get fresh fish. After the Souvlaki and the meet at the Greek taverna the previous nights, Charlie had wished for a fish restaurant. She got her wish.
Before dinner though, she wanted to see a bit more of the bay, find the thermal springs and see what else there would be. She had already seen one side of the bay when she went for the swim with Daria in the afternoon, now it was time to see the opposite side. Pablo joined her on her walk. The thermal springs weren’t hard to find as they are right by the beach and even though there weren’t too many tourists that day, the springs were crowded. They just took a picture and continued their walk. A bit further outside the bay they discovered another beach which could only be reached over a rocky and almost invisible path. If you ever look for a quiet beach, you now know where you’ll find it.
